The background description provided herein is for the purpose of generally presenting the context of the disclosure. Work of the presently named inventors, to the extent the work is described in this background section, as well as aspects of the description that may not otherwise qualify as prior art at the time of filing, are neither expressly nor impliedly admitted as prior art against the present disclosure.
Access networks provide connections between two or more network devices and/or between a network device and an Internet. The network devices may include, for example, user devices, peripheral devices, and data storage devices. The devices may be located in one or more networks. The connections are established to uplink and/or downlink signals between the devices and/or between the devices and the Internet.
As an example, an Ethernet-based access network may include an access chassis. The access chassis provides connections between network devices and/or between the network devices and the Internet. The access chassis may include, for example, fabric cards (e.g., 2 fabric cards) and line cards (e.g., 16 line cards). Each of the fabric cards can be connected to each of the line cards. The line cards are connected to the network devices via an Ethernet network. Predetermined ports or uplink ports of one or more of the line cards may be connected to the Internet. The fabric cards provide connections between the line cards. The line cards provide connections between the network devices and the fabric cards and/or between the fabric cards and the Internet.
Each of the fabric cards typically includes an aggregation switch and a central control module. The aggregation switch provides connections between the line cards to route, for example, signals from a) a first user device connected to a first line card to b) a second user device or the Internet connected to a second line card. The central control module controls states of the connections and the transfer of packets between the line cards. Each of the line cards typically includes an access switch and multiple PHY devices (e.g., 6 PHY devices). Each of the PHY devices includes one or more PHY modules. The access switch provides connections between the aggregation switch located on the fabric card and the PHY modules.